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Dedicated

God clearly places two possibilities before His creatures for the next life, heaven or hell:

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (Deut. 30:19)

Christians understand this quite well and have made their choices for the next life. But what of this life? What does God expect of His highly blessed children in this world, in the here and now? Do we just do the best we can and manage to get by? Or has He given us real work to do for Him while we remain here in this sin-filled and wicked world? One thing He asks for is that we take time for Him.

Time for God

Should we focus to such a great extent on everyday issues that thoughts of the future become seldom, incidental, rare and dim? Does the future really have so little effect on the present that so many of God’s people only give it any real attention on Sunday mornings? Is it or should it be, of little or no importance for the remainder of the week?

God tells us that we always need to very near to Him:

But it is good for me to draw near to God:  I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.  (Psalm 73:28)

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth (Psalm 145:18)

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  (Prov. 3:5,6)

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you….  (James 4:8)

What does this mean? What is our Creator telling us here? These are very clear and precise statements and commandments. Clearly, our loving God is explaining to us, His beloved children, that we need to lean on Him and should not trust our own understanding. He tells us that He is always near when we call on Him.

Why must we question and not rely on our own understanding? One reason is because we are still sinners, still bearing in our hearts the effects of past and present sin and continually in need of God’s correcting hand. We should be looking to Him in all we do. We may be adults, but before Him we are as little children having only the barest comprehension of the realities that comprise the world we live in. The truly mature believer is one that is constantly aware of these, his own personal limitations and, even in seemingly benign situations, is in almost constant communication with his Lord.

For many of us today, though, this kind of Reliance on God is typically present either under unusual circumstances or when something causes us to shift our attention to the next life. Let’s face what might be an unpleasant truth: faith in God is too often a thing “we took care of” in the past, a decision that was made, perhaps years ago. Faith is still there but moment by moment dependence on, and communication with God is not an active and ever-present part of our everyday life in this world.

God is very concerned, though, with the details of how we live and what we do every minute of every day in this present world. His desire is that we develop the habit of going first to Him with all questions that arise and that we recognize and resist any tendency to make decisions without this kind of reliance on Him.

We are His creatures; everything we are and everything we have are gifts from Him. He created us, not to live just as we please, but to please Him by obeying this: His wish that we lean on Him for even the seemingly mundane decisions we make all day, every day.

Every minute of every day of our entire lives are His gifts to us and He tells us here that wants to share them with us. Why? It it is because He knows how weak we really are, how prone to leave Him out of the decision process, and how easily we make poor or hurtful decisions. Most believers today don’t appreciate either their own need, or the great benefit to be gained by truly leaning on our loving Lord in everything they say or do.

It’s not the amount of our time that is in question here; it is the center of our lives that God asks to be involved in. He loves us, knows our true needs, and wishes to always be close to us and give us the help we constantly need. Do we deny Him this?

This is a difficult question indeed and must be addressed with care. First, dear fellow believer, it should be viewed from an eternal perspective. We may picture ourselves before our Lord in eternity future discussing things and assessing them, perhaps in preparation for work He has for us elsewhere in His universe. This perspective, if not continually present, is one that should never be too far way. It should be a permanent aspect of life in Christ, the background in which all His children live. Time for God is not just an occasional thing; it is always.

Do we now just brush all this aside, put it out of our minds, and go on with life as it was? Please don’t, instead take the question of the proper relationship with the Lord seriously, and seek His will. Put God to the test; get into really close contact with Him for a day or two and see for yourself that He keeps this as well as all His promises.

Regardless of your decision, He will bless you in many ways, beginning now, for the remainder of your time in this world, and for the eternity that lies beyond.

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